John Molina Jr. scores upset with unanimous decision against Ruslan Provodnikov
VERONA, N.Y. - Everybody, it seemed, said the same thing. This was destined to be a fight of the year candidate even before the fighters stepped into the ring.
Well, let's dispense with this right off. It wasn't. Not even close.
But it was the fight of the year for John Molina Jr., to be sure. The fight of his career, to be honest. After all, Molina was at one point as much as a 7-1 underdog to "The Siberian Rocky," Ruslan Provodnikov.
Molina, 33, used his height and reach advantage to jab at will all night long, 643 of them in all, and kept the slugging Russian at bay, not allowing Provodnikov to get inside where he's most comfortable at close range.
And so, Molina came away with a unanimous decision in the 12-round, junior welterweight main event at the Events Center at Turning Stone Casino here, just a few miles up the road from the International Boxing Hall of Fame, which is holding its 2016 induction ceremony on Sunday.
The three judges agreed on nine of the 12 rounds. Glenn Feldman had it 115-113, John McKaie had it 117-111 and Don Ackerman 116-112, all for Molina.
Molina simply outworked Provodnikov. He landed nearly a hundred more punches, 377 to 283, and threw 385 more punches than the Russian. But Molina landed 152 of his 643 jabs, far outpacing Provodnikov's 86 of 265.
Provodnikov was fighting on Showtime for the first time under his new contract, and for only the second time with his latest trainer, Joel Diaz. And Diaz's defensive influence was noticeable early on, as Provodnikov, whether because of Molina's gameplan or his inability to let his hands go, did not look like the Ruslan of old, staying tentative for long stretches. He looked like a tired fighter at times throughout the fight.
Molina was also fighting for the first time under his new trainer Shadeed Suluki, and that, he said, was the difference.
"He realized that I could use the jab, which was a bad word at one point in my career," Molina said. "And he showed me how to use my feet. And use my God-given attributes, which is my height and reach advantage."
Molina, from Covina, Calif., improved to 29-6 (23 KOs), while Provodnikov is 25-4 (18 KOs).
"It's a fight that we needed," said Molina. "Ruslan Provodnikov is a very notable name. He's a tough, tough guy. He kept moving forward.
"People don't realize I had my amateur career in the pros, and now it's my time to step out and shine. . . . Shadeed showed me how to throw punches and use my power. We knew we had to outwork Provodnikov."
And, as the punch totals showed, he clearly succeeded with that part of the gameplan.
Provodnikov, meanwhile, offered no excuses.
"Today the decision was the right one. Molina won the fight - he was better tonight," Provodnikov said through his manager and translator Vadim Kornilov. "Everything was scored the way it should have been.
"We expected that he was going to box, he was going to move. It wasn't my night. Maybe I don't have the same hungriness as before. I'm not going to make excuses, but it was hard for me to find my groove tonight. There are no excuses. I lost the fight tonight. I have to sit down and think of why that happened.
"I'm sorry if I disappointed."
(Photo of Molina, right, and Provodnikov, by Amanda Wescott, Showtime)